Leaps and Bounds

Many years ago Martha was known by a different name.

Jumping Jan.

She was known as Jumping Jan as she was very easily startled and would react by starting, often violently, in a variety of horrified poses.

It can be quite amusing to have a Martha who resembles Nosforatu when unsettled.

The reaction could come as if for no reason at all. You could say hello stood behind her and she would scream. Stand silently behind her and not say anything at all, so she found you when she turned, could result in a scream and whatever she was holding being tossed across the room as she spasmed.

Once, in Spain, I saw her nearly leave the pavement as she jumped at her own shadow.

It was on the same holiday that we sat in a cafe and discussed Martha changing her name, recently divorced from my father, she no longer wanted to carry his name. Suddenly she pounced upon a sugar packed on the table with the brand name 'Jurando'.

'That's it!' she cried, 'Its my new name! Jumping Jan Jurado!'

So pleased was Martha with the new name, that she had 'J.J.J.' inscribed on her lighter. She told everyone she met about that sugar packet from Spain.

A few months later we were back in Spain, in the same cafe, when our favourite waiter Xavier approached us.

Martha showed him her lighted, laughed and told him the story.

'Ahhhh......' he said.

'You do realise that in Spain we do not have a 'J' sound, here 'J' is pronounced with a 'H'?'.

Humping Han Hurado put her lighter away and never mentioned it again.